czwalga wrote:I still think trading for Ryan Malone wouldnt be a bad idea. He could probably be had easily unless tampa has changed their minds, 3 years isn't too long anymore and 4.5m is jump change these days.....

14 ES goals in 68 games. slower than most shelled reptiles. i guess he could be a better option than kennedy on malkin's wing. that's not exactly a 4.5 million dollar compliment.

Chris Stewart in St. Louis was once said to be availible. He doesn't fit in Big Kens system

6'2 230 lbs, In 09 he had 28 goals with Colorado, had 15 goals in 26 games in 2010, and last year had 15 goals in 79 games. I think he is worth the risk if he doesn't pan out with Sid he would still make a good 3rd liner.

I think for the next season you might just want to sign a few UFA to 1 year deals and see if someone works well with Sid.

I think people need to relax a little bit. Everyone acts like the Penguins are in a far worse position. The holes we need to fill are not that big of a deal. ZM is gone...a weak link.-opens up D roster spots-we have d-men ready to fight for a spot: Bortuzzo, Despres, Strait and possibly Morrow. -The way our roster was set up, a spot needed to open up if we were to ever see these guys make the jump.

Pens add Vokoun-I don't think some people realize how huge this is.-Now we have a real tandem. Vokoun could still be a #1 guy on a few teams. -Less slack on Fleury, two strong goalies.

Staal gone - Sutter added-Yes, we lose a top NHL centerman.-We add a solid two-way 3rd line center capable of 20 goals, good on face-offs and a solid PK guy. -Sutter may not be Staal, but he still has room to grow and can put up significant points.

Sullivan gone - winger spot opens-I admit Sullivan had a pretty good season, but far from irreplaceable. -WE DON'T NEED PARISE. -The Penguins don't have to add a superstar winger for Sid, but a solid one shouldn't be too difficult.

Shero doesn't have a lot of work to do. The team is not in dire straights. People are disappointed that we didn't bring in major names yet, and Shero may not, but Shero doesn't need major names to do what he needs to do.

pfim wrote:Team is worse right now than it was at the end of the season, not sure that can be disputed.

It's also July 5th. Pretty sure that can't be disputed either.

I don't agree that the team is worse. Yes, losing Staal is obviously not great. He has a set of skills at a position that's incredibly rare, but it's replaced by a very solid player and someone who I also wouldn't consider your average 3rd line winger. Sutter brings some of the very same intangibles that Staal brought, but obviously not to the same degree of skill that Staal had. Nonetheless, Sutter brings all aspects of the game with a very high degree of skill for a third liner.

Losing ZM doesn't exactly make us weaker. It does create a hole, but we still sent away a player that was simply a weak link.

We got BETTER in net. I don't think that can be disputed. Not many teams get to have a real goaltending tandem. So yeah, we lost some skill up front and opened up a hole on D, but we still retained necessary skill and depth up front while getter better in net.

A) Don’t make any more major moves, go to camp with what we got, play our game (good enough to stay in contention for sure) and see what comes available at the trade deadline (hello Jerome, would you like to take a run at the cup sir?). This may be the most prudent course of action, but man, seeing TK take regular shifts in the top 6 is going to give me some major heartburn from October through February.

B) Give up whatever it takes to grab Shea Weber. Its going to take a ton. But it just might be worth it. Would Nashville consider this “Godfather” offer: Paul Martin, Tyler Kennedy, Eric Tangradi, our next two year’s 1st round picks, Despres and Dulomin (nearly NHL ready prospect we picked up in the Staal trade)? Yes. That is a ridiculous boatload of an offer, and will never ever actually happen. But I actually would be willing to serve that up right now, in the wake of Nashville losing one of their franchise cornerstones for absolutely nothing, to bring in one of the top defensemen on the planet to play with Letang.

C) Work with the Goldwater Institute in Arizona to make sure that the Coyotes ownership situation is a total disaster. Make a big 3 year offer to Shane Doan. Look up his numbers and transpose them with Billy G right before he came to Pittsburgh. Getting Doan for a few more seasons when he is 36 instead of 39 would be a big coup in my book. And he brings that veteran combination of skill, savvy and grit that would mesh perfectly with Crosby’s game. I’ve always been a big admirer of Doan since a random game I saw him absolutely take over when Versus was showing a late night Coyotes-Sharks game instead of their usual Gopher Hunting marathon. The Yotes were down few goals in the 3rd, and Doan just morphed into the incredible Hulk and single- handily willed his squad back to an OT victory. It was like there were 9 other guys skating around randomly, and Shane Doan on the ice commanding everything around him for every shift he took that period. IF the Pens can get even 75% of that player, I will take that signed in blood for a few more years.

D) The “Satan” route. This is similar to option A, but with a slight twist that they at least find someone who can come in and give them something for the financial and roster space that is “unfortunately” available. Possible guys I can see fitting into this role: via free agency: Fedetenko, Semin, or a Kostitsyn. Via a possible trade: Malone, Hemsky, or Stafford (3 guys who have fell out of favor with their teams and whose contracts don’t look quite as bad in light of the way the Cap has gone up recently).

E) Swing a deal with the Wings (who are really looking to fill in a top 4 D spot and have a slight overabundance of forwards) Paul Martin for, say Justin Abdelkader or Darren Helm.

F) Find some way to get Rick Nash out of Purgatory. I don't think he is worth the King's Ransom Columbus is asking for, but maybe someone can convince Craig Patrick over there to pull a "Eddie Johnson with Hartford" move to help his old squad out.

It sucks that Parise didn’t want to come here to play with Sid, but we are still in better shape then a lot of teams going into this season. Would have loved to have seen him here, but moving on we still got the two biggest offensive forces in hockey on our team. Locking up Geno long term should now become Shero’s #1 priority, and anything after that is a bonus.

pfim wrote:Team is worse up front and there are question marks in defense. I doubt this will be the lineup when the season starts.

Yeah. But not trying to be sarcastic here......we gots room. Lotsa room. GMRS may wait until the trade deadline. Doesn't matter if this team goes 80-2 if ti loses in Rd 1 or Rd 2. Making the playoffs with this current roster is likely. Come deadline, who knows. Maybe add a rental player, maybe a Corey Perry tells Anaheim he wants to leave and we trade for him and sign him long term.

Hugo Stiglitz wrote:I think people need to relax a little bit. Everyone acts like the Penguins are in a far worse position. The holes we need to fill are not that big of a deal. ZM is gone...a weak link.-opens up D roster spots-we have d-men ready to fight for a spot: Bortuzzo, Despres, Strait and possibly Morrow. -The way our roster was set up, a spot needed to open up if we were to ever see these guys make the jump.

Pens add Vokoun-I don't think some people realize how huge this is.-Now we have a real tandem. Vokoun could still be a #1 guy on a few teams. -Less slack on Fleury, two strong goalies.

Staal gone - Sutter added-Yes, we lose a top NHL centerman.-We add a solid two-way 3rd line center capable of 20 goals, good on face-offs and a solid PK guy. -Sutter may not be Staal, but he still has room to grow and can put up significant points.

Sullivan gone - winger spot opens-I admit Sullivan had a pretty good season, but far from irreplaceable. -WE DON'T NEED PARISE. -The Penguins don't have to add a superstar winger for Sid, but a solid one shouldn't be too difficult.

Shero doesn't have a lot of work to do. The team is not in dire straights. People are disappointed that we didn't bring in major names yet, and Shero may not, but Shero doesn't need major names to do what he needs to do.

Hugo, I have to agree with your points.

I've gone back and forth over this since the Parise/Suter signings; while I would have liked to have Suter, Parise was completely unnecessary. Another poster pointed out that the Pens outscored the entire NHL. That's impressive.

I do happen to think that GMRS does have this under control and it is time for some of these young defensive prospects to grow up and play on the big team. The Staal trade was necessary and we got value in return. I've said elsewhere that if Vokoun plays 30 games and wins 70% and Fleury does the same with his 50 games, the Pens are in playoffs with a rested, sharp world-class goalie. That didn't happen this year.

No one would concider Kristian Huselius on a one year deal? I mean just until the deadline or until we can choose from next season UFA list? Only 2 games with Colombus last season, depends on what he wants, i can't see it being much.

no name wrote:No one would concider Kristian Huselius on a one year deal? I mean just until the deadline or until we can choose from next season UFA list? Only 2 games with Colombus last season, depends on what he wants, i can't see it being much.

no name wrote:No one would concider Kristian Huselius on a one year deal? I mean just until the deadline or until we can choose from next season UFA list? Only 2 games with Colombus last season, depends on what he wants, i can't see it being much.